ELPIDIO BACALE, FE BACALE TANA, CIL BACALE, SEBASTIAN BACALE AND LUZ BACALE BREVA, ROMULO BACALE, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS, VS. DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, REPRESENTED BY …

On May 13, 2014, this Court issued a Minute Resolution^[1] directing the Court’s Judicial Records Division-Civil Cases to issue the appropriate Notice to File Brief to the parties concerned after the completion of the records.

On July 25, 2014, Records Officer Abdul M. Amer sent Notices to File Brief to the following persons with their respective Registry Return Receipts as well as the dates of their receipt, to wit:

NAME/PARTY	REGISTRY RECEIPT	Date of Receipt
Atty.Blanche Astilla-Salino	236	09/09/14
Atty.Francisco P. Martinez	237	Returned, Moved Office
Elpidio Bacale	241	09/08/14
Luz Bacale Breva	240	09/08/14
Romulo Bacale	239	09/08/14
Heirs of the late Gil Bacale, Sr. represented by Gil Bacale, Jr.	238	09/08/14
Fe Bacale Taña	242	Returned, Moved Out
Donato Advincula Sr.	246	09/08/14
DBP	244	09/08/14
Spouses Wilfredo and Rosa Cabanas De Veyra	245	Returned, Moved Out

Despite receipt of notice to file brief, per, Judicial Records Division of this Court report^[2] dated November 24, 2014, no brief was filed by the appellants within the reglementary period, the consequence of which is dismissal in accordance with Section 1 (e), Rule 50 of the Rules of Court which succinctly provides that:

“Section 1. Grounds for dismissal of appeal. – An appeal may be dismissed by the Court of Appeals, on its own motion or on that of the appellee, on the following grounds:

x x x x

(e) Failure of the appellant to serve and file the required number of copies of his brief or memorandum within the time provided by these Rules; x x x”

The failure to file the Appellant’s Brief, though not jurisdictional, results in the abandonment of the appeal which may be the cause for its dismissal.

An appealing party must strictly comply with the requisites laid down in the Rules of Court since the right to appeal is a purely statutory right.^[3]

WHEREFORE, premises considered the instant appeal is hereby DISMISSED and WITHDRAWN from the docket of active cases of this Court pursuant to Section 1(e), Rule 50^[4] of the Rules of Court.

SO ORDERED.

Hernando, J., Chairperson, and Azcarraga-Jacob, JJ., concur.

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^[1] Rollo, p. 30

^[2] Rollo, p. 36 (dorsal portion)

^[3] Pineda v. Arcalas, G.R. No. 170172, November 23, 2007

^[4] Section 1. Grounds for dismissal of appeal.- An appeal may be dismissed by the Court of Appeals, on its own motion or that of the appellee, on the following grounds:

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e) Failure of the appellant to serve and file the required number of copies of his brief or memorandum within the time provided by these Rules;

xxx